The sixth round of the F3 European Championship confirmed the big step taken by Dorian Boccolacci at Spa last week. The Lotus F1 Junior Team driver has now made his mark and is increasing the pace at the front of the field with regularity. In the top 10 three times in Germany, he gained five places at once in the championship where he is now ranked 15th.

"The start of the season has been difficult, I sometimes had doubts, but I had to learn the intricacies of driving in F3 and now the work is beginning to pay off," said the driver from FFSA Team France. "I have a good basis to take the next step. However, I remain cautious in my race strategy, so many things can happen in the pack. My primary objective is to finish each time to increase my experience. It is very important to achieve good qualifying results to have a chance to do well. At the Norisring, three times I managed to post the 3rd time in my group and the performance gaps to the best are significantly reduced. The racing becomes much more interesting."

Located in Germany, near Nuremberg, Norisring is a very special street circuit, the shortest of the season, but the wide track gives good overtaking opportunities, but also a huge risk of contact with safety rails. In general, the meeting went rather better than previous rounds at Monza and Spa. After enjoying the free practice to familiarise himself with the track, Dorian set excellent times - 7/100 and 3/100 from pole - in qualifying, each time 3rd in his group, which enabled him to start 6th in the three races.

Race 1 was held in heavy rain causing many off-track excursions. Dorian managed his pace perfectly despite the poor visibility and limited grip to finish 6th without making a single mistake. In the second race, this time on a dry track, he had to attack to regain the lost places, especially when an opponent pushed him into the first corner. Running 13th on the third lap, he went up to 8th at the finish line despite several interventions of the safety car, with the third best time. The podium was a serious prospect in race 3, from 6th. Dorian did not attempt to gain an advantage over his teammate who was delayed on the first lap and then prepared to go on the attack, but the safety car interventions twice stopped him in his tracks. He was then hampered by Jake Dennis who closed the doors in front of him. "I saw that Ferrucci was back behind me, I absolutely had to try to overtake Dennis, but I slightly touched in passing. The team then advised me to let Dennis by to avoid a penalty, while I was 5th and close to the top group. Unfortunately the British driver had lost ground and it cost me several places." 8th at the finish, Dorian still scored important points for the third time this weekend and moved up to 15th position in the championship.

"My car is becoming more competitive. Team Signature has worked hard. We have a few small details to refine, but the foundation is now very developed. There is a great atmosphere in the team. My teammate Alexander Albon does not hesitate share his experience, even though I am getting closer to his performance. We are all ona an upward spiral, which is a great prospect for the future!"

The next meeting is in Holland on the Zandvoort circuit on 10th to 12th July.